The concept of the book-characters coming to life with expert reading aloud-is fantastic. Certain parts of the story are as exciting as the concept. The introduction is plenty mysterious with Meggie's father's secretive behavior. Elinor's houseful of books is just what I would want. Meggie's traveling box of books is a beautiful addition. The entrapment of Meggie's mother within the troublesome book causes most of their predicament. The involvement of the author helps to bring the story to a conclusion.

I'm not sure how I feel about the story overall. It's long and seemed to drag for a while in the middle. Some of the hoodlum behavior is necessary to the story, but in parts it seems a little too Series of Unfortunate Events (everything going wrong, little cause for hope).

I haven't read The Thief Lord yet, so I can't really make an assessment of the author. I do wonder if the story lost some of its attraction in the translation.
related-magic of words and books, theatrical reading, family separation
RL=7th-YA